How to optimize your supply chain with Managed Transportation

How to optimize your supply chain and focus on your business by saving time and costs with Managed Transportation

Do you spend too much time managing the transportation of your products and goods from your warehouses to their final destination? Do you find it difficult to adapt to changes in the supply chain or to your customers' demands? Managed Transportation offers you the option to delegate the management of your goods' transportation to an external provider, allowing you to save time and reduce costs while optimizing your supply chain operations. This way, you can focus on other areas of your business, with the assurance that transportation management is in the hands of a specialized company, using your own network of carriers. Learn now about the benefits this service can offer you and how to choose the right provider.

What is Managed Transportation?

Managed Transportation is the outsourcing of the planning, execution, and optimization of a company's transportation operations.

Find a specialized external provider to take care of tasks such as:

• Managing orders from start to finish to reduce the workload of shippers.
• Ensuring the most suitable transportation mode and route for each order.
• Planning and optimizing routes so that shippers can offer better delivery times to their customers.
• Using advanced technologies to allow shippers to track and trace shipments in real-time.
• Analyzing transportation data and preparing performance reports so that shippers can make more informed decisions in the future.
• Managing and thoroughly reviewing documentation to ensure compliance with regulations for both the shipper and the carrier.

In short, Managed Transportation allows each party involved to focus on what they do best: shippers on their business, and providers on transportation management. This translates into a reduction in manual work and operational costs.

What are the benefits of Managed Transportation?

Here are some of the key benefits that shippers can achieve:

• More flexibility and scalability: Many companies experience seasonality in their supply. Using Managed Transportation allows them to adjust transportation strategies to manage increased volumes and coordinate with carriers to maintain delivery times and quality standards.
  
  
• Lower risks: Relying on a Managed Transportation provider can be especially beneficial for companies dealing with high-value products or chemicals. The provider can design routes that minimize risks and ensure that handling or temperature requirements are met for the goods.
  
  
• Greater visibility and analysis: Shippers from all industries can leverage the technology, statistics, and performance reports provided by Managed Transportation providers to compare and analyze the performance of their carriers—costs, delivery times, or regulatory compliance. This helps identify areas for improvement, negotiate better rates with carriers, and optimize their supply chain.

• Better operational efficiency: By outsourcing processes and operations, teams can work more efficiently, reassign resources, and focus on more important tasks, such as product innovation or customer acquisition.
  
  

Many companies are already taking advantage of these benefits to enhance their competitive edge, as in the case of CTS International. This freight forwarding company partnered with CtrlChain to integrate all of its carriers into a single platform. Thanks to CtrlChain’s Managed Transportation solution, CTS International has simplified transportation management and can now analyze the performance of all its previously independent and uncoordinated carriers.

How to choose a Managed Transportation provider?

Follow these steps to select the right Managed Transportation provider.

1.  Make a list of your needs. The first step is to clearly define your company’s needs by answering questions such as:

• What specific problems are we facing with our current transportation management?
• Are we being efficient in the planning and execution of our shipments?
• Could we free up internal resources to focus on core competencies by outsourcing transportation management?
• Do they offer customized solutions for our specific needs?

    2. Compare different providers. Reach out to different providers and ask them to explain their offerings and how they can meet your needs. Request success stories and client experiences.

    3. Check the providers’ adaptability. Your needs are likely to change over time. Ensure that the providers have the necessary resources to adapt, such as handling increased volumes or higher shipment frequency. Make sure their solution is versatile and adaptable, so it can evolve over time according to your needs.

    4. Request references from the providers. Ask the providers for references from other clients they have worked with, such as testimonials, case studies, recommendations, etc. If possible, contact these clients to verify the references and hear firsthand about their opinion and experience with the provider. This step can also help you identify potential issues when working with a specific provider.

    5. Verify the providers’ experience. Transportation management is a complex process involving communication with various carriers, managing incidents, meeting diverse requirements, etc. Therefore, it’s essential to choose a provider with extensive experience in your sector to minimize potential risks. Ask how long they’ve been in business and what experience they have in your industry.

How does Managed Transportation work?

These are the typical steps that Managed Transportation providers follow when partnering with a shipper:

• Transportation planning and optimization: Managed Transportation providers use cutting-edge technologies, such as TMS solutions and advanced algorithms, to identify the most suitable transportation mode and routes for each shipment, consolidate shipments, or analyze specific requirements.
• Carrier management: Managed Transportation providers handle the relationship with the shippers' carriers to agree on pricing, pickup time, location, and the shipment’s destination, maintaining constant communication to ensure service agreements are met.
• Shipment execution and tracking: Managed Transportation providers coordinate with carriers to fulfill shipments and provide shippers with real-time tracking.
• Performance analysis and reporting: Managed Transportation providers track carrier performance and analyze data such as costs, delivery times, or compliance to offer shippers reports that help them identify areas for improvement or make data-driven decisions.

Try Managed Transportation and start saving time and costs while improving visibility, efficiency, and accessibility in your supply chain. One of the quickest ways to do this is by contacting a logistics management platform that handles everything. Ready to take the next step? Contact CtrlChain now.